Things I wish I knew in my 20s

By Aaron Calderon, Dec 24, 2017

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When we’re young, we think we know everything. We’ve finished school or college, and gone out into the world to start work. We have maybe even had a couple of relationships by this stage, and we’ve certainly encountered one or two blips. And we think we know it all, don’t we? We’re convinced that we have all the answers and that we know exactly how the world works, but we don’t.

Of course, we don’t. And looking back when we’re older, we can see that we had no clue about the way things are what to expect for the future. But, at the time there is nobody who can get through to us – our parents tried, but we didn’t want to listen. But, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and we can look back in a fresh light, and marvel at the things we wish we had known in our twenties. How different would life have been if we’d been aware of these bombshells?!

You’ll never have more free time

When we’re young, we seem to have a misconception that when we get older and have things a bit more sussed out, we will be able to free up more time for ourselves. But this isn’t really how it works, and, in fact, the opposite is true. As we get older, we have more responsibilities which take up more of our time, and these continue to grow over the years. The fact of it is that we don’t really start to get any extra free time to ourselves until we are eventually retired! Time is so crucial, and we are so wasteful with it, so try to ensure you use your time wisely.

Be selfish

Your twenties is the time to be selfish because you have fewer responsibilities, and this is the last time you’ll be able to say that. As you get older, you have to think about things like rent, mortgage, kids, and saving for the future. Your twenties is the perfect time to start putting yourself at number one and doing things you want to do. Stuff like traveling is so important to take the time to do these days because you may never get the chance to do again later in life.

It’s okay to take risks

People who are risk-averse generally don’t like to take chances, but this is okay when you are younger. When you’re in your 20s it’s actually perfectly fine to take risks – this is the time you should be doing that! We don’t mean taking risks with your life or health, but in terms of career paths, this is the right time to be taking risks – you don’t have to worry about things like debt, or people relying on you too much. Now is the time to take risks, when you are unshackled by the constraints that later life can sometimes bring. You also have more time to pick yourself back up if a risk fails. If everything goes wrong, and you didn’t end up where you planned to be, then you’re still young! Choose a different path, and pursue it. It’s much harder to do this when you’re in your forties and fifties.

Working harder is fine

As you get older, you want to work less because you wish you had more time for your family and friends. But, in your twenties, you are young, fit, and you have limited responsibilities, so now is the time to work hard. You’ve got to make sure you do as much as you can to work hard and develop your skills at a young age. Instead of wasting time you should maximize time, and do your best to become better at a multitude of different things.

These are just some of the key things we wish we knew when we were in our 20s. Honestly, it would have made certain aspects of life so much easier and would have given us more opportunities for the future. If you are in your 20s now, you need to realize these important things, and do as much as possible to develop your skills and personality.